Gbarnga, Bong County – Cuttington University is expected to honor its former student and Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Honourable Sidie Mohamed Tunis, this weekend at the university’s Suakoko campus, the university has disclosed.
Tunis, who is a 1989 graduate of the university, bagged a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry during his four-year enrollment.
Since his graduation, Tunis has acrued unto himself a wealth of experience in legislative politics and governance. And, according to the university, the honor is meant to acknowledge his ascendency since his graduation in 1989.
Tunis is currently a Member of the Sierra Leonean Parliament representing Constituency 101, Pujehun District.
He served as Majority Leader in the Fifth Parliament of the second Republic of Sierra Leone and as a ranking member of the Sierra Leone delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament prior to his election as Honorable Speaker of the Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.
He was born in Zimmi, Makpele Chiefdom, Pujehun District to Alhaji Mohamed Ahmed Tunis, a renowned and well sought-after Muslim cleric and Haja Massa Massaquoi, the daughter of a Paramount Chief.
Tunis has in diverse ways emulated his parent’s legacy and continues to provide humanitarian services whilst securing the equitable delivery of social services to his people. He is happily married to Mrs. Nabella Farida Tunis and their union is blessed with three wonderful children.
Honorable Sidie Tunis’s political career started in 1995 when he was elected Secretary General of the National Unity Party, a position he held for three years before the party was incorporated into the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP).
He was first elected as Member of Parliament in 2002 under the SLPP government, led by President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, to represent an area in the Pujehun District which borders the Republic of Liberia. He has since then been reelected twice under the SLPP ticket and served from the opposition and ruling benches for the area which is now referred to as Constituency 101.
In his Parliamentary stint which spans over 12 years, Hon. Sidie Tunis served as the main opposition Minority Whip (2012-2017), chaired the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Trade and Industry, and conducted oversight on communications, infrastructure and extractive industry.
These platforms afforded him an opportunity to expand his knowledge on a diverse range of national issues, enhancing his contribution to debates in national and international forums. His tenure as Minority Whip under the All Peoples Congress led government (2012-2018) increased his understanding of political dynamics as his unassuming but firm disposition helped escalate and secure consensus on issues of national interest.
His contribution towards the enactment of Bills on national development including the Local Content Agency and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency Acts during that term was heralded.
During his tenure as Majority Leader, Hon.Sidie Tunis exercised oversight over the enactment of critical legislations such as Extractive Industries Revenue Act and the passage of the constitutional instruments for the establishment of the Commissions of Inquiry, which aims to promote transparency and accountability, fair justice system and the rule of law. While executing his role as Majority Leader in a Parliament which consists of 146 elected representatives from 4 political parties – including 3 independent members, his leadership and mentorship skills were tested and proved worthy.
Prior to his Parliamentary career, Hon. Tunis was an investment consultant and established a national utility and supplies company For-Tra Meyer, a subsidiary of a major company in Germany.
He served as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (2008-2011) and the Guma Valley Water Company (1998-2002). In March 2020, he was elected Speaker of the 5th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, a position he now occupies with a four years mandate.